Planning before every harvest
In addition to long-term and landscape-level planning, we conduct careful planning ahead of every forest management action. The most extensive planning takes place prior to regeneration harvesting.
No matter what we do in the forest, environmental considerations are always an obvious part of the work. We take all forestry measures into account, such as road construction, soil scarification, thinning and fertilizing. Environmental considerations include natur consideration, consideration of the cultural environment, consideration of recreation and outdoor life, and consideration of reindeer herding.
Our highly trained operational planners thoroughly assess the forest to determine what nature considerations should be implemented. They plan which areas should be preserved, known as conservation areas. They also plan the routes for forestry machines on the areas to be harvested and review the need for forest roads. Furthermore, they prepare plans for the next generation of forest, deciding on matters such as tree species, soil scarification techniques, and planting. They also plan how to care for ancient and cultural remains in the forest.
A significant portion of the planning is performed in the office using SCA's advanced planning tools equipped with AI functionality. The tool contains a wealth of data about the forest and individual trees. Pre-harvets planners also conduct field visits as part of their planning process. Thanks to the planning tool, our planners know exactly what to look for when out in the field.
Checklist for nature values
When it comes to environmental values, the pre-harvest planners fill out a checklist based on various factors. This provides them with valuable support in their assessments. The site plans are then compiled into detailed materials, including maps and instructions — referred to as site directives — so that the harvest teams know how to proceed with the logging.
Consideration by harvest teams
Our harvest teams also carry significant responsibility in ensuring environmental considerations. During harvest, they decide, for instance, which tree clusters to leave untouched and which trees to cut into high stumps. Their forestry machines are equipped with computers featuring digital maps and GPS, allowing them to see exactly where they are located and more easily follow the harvesting plan and maps.
Careful planning is equally essential for other forest management activities, such as soil carification, thinning, and road construction, as it lays the foundation for conscientious naturre consideration practices.
Extensive basic retention
We apply extensive consideration even in forests with lower nature conservation values that are managed with a focus on high timber production. This is referred to as basic retention and is an important tool in our nature conservation palette.
When utilizing basic retention, we save 10 to 15 percent of the area. For example, we preserve conservation areas, buffer zones along waterways and mires, older trees, and deadwood. This benefits a wide range of species, from birds and insects to fungi and lichens.
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Planning for nature values
Every harvest we carry out in our forest is preceded by a long and thorough process, where we take a wide range of aspects into account. Our most important goal is to ensure that all species living in our forests can continue to do so in the future.
Clear-felling – an eternal ecocycle
Clear-felling forestry means that we manage the forest in a perpetual cycle, where new forest are being planted to grows when the mature one has been harvested. The cycle time is approximately 60 to 120 years.
Gentle Effective Logging protects soil and water
It is vital that our harversting operation does not cause any damage to soil or water. Therefore we work with the Gentle Effective Logging-method. This helps us reduce soil damages and also to improve work efficiency.